Rex Tillerson Still Has a Job, Will Lead North Korea Talks in Canada Despite Disagreeing With Trump

President Donald Trump (right) speaks alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on December 20, 2017. Both men have routinely denied any major misunderstandings between them, but their public representations of U.S. foreign policy have not always aligned.SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to attend North Korea talks scheduled for later this month in Canada amid rumors he's fallen out of favor with his boss.

The State Department confirmed Thursday that Tillerson would travel to Vancouver later this week to co-host a meeting of countries who supported South Korea against its northern, Communist rival during a 1950s conflict that technically never ended.

Joining Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the department said, Tillerson would attempt to rally U.S. allies into a united front against nuclear-armed North Korea. Their efforts have already been met with serious challenges.

"The meeting will bring together nations from across the globe to demonstrate international solidarity against North Korea’s dangerous and illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs," the State Department said in a statement.

"Discussions will focus on advancing and strengthening diplomatic efforts toward a secure, prosperous and denuclearized Korean peninsula," it continued.

President Donald Trump (right) speaks alongside Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on December 20, 2017. Both men have routinely denied any major misunderstandings between them, but their public representations of U.S. foreign policy have not always aligned. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

As the U.S's top diplomat, former Exxon Mobil CEO Tillerson was tasked with representing Washington's foreign policy interests. However, his positions often appeared to conflict with those of Trump, who also had no prior political or military experience and often tweeted out his opinions on world affairs without consulting his advisers. The ambiguity of the U.S.'s position created anxiety at home and abroad as a nuclear crisis escalated on the Korean Peninsula.

Tillerson demonstrated Trump's hard-line stance toward North Korea during his first tour of East Asia in March. Visiting China, Japan and South Korea, he made clear that "all options are on the table," including military action against North Korea.

Tensions rose, however, as North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in July and tested a hydrogen bomb in September. When Tillerson confirmed on October 1 that he was still in discussions with North Korean officials, Trump shot him down on Twitter.

“I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man,” Trump tweeted.

South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyun (right) shakes hands with North Korean chief delegate Ri Son Gwon (left) as they exchange joint statements during their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on January 9. KOREA POOL/AFP/Getty Images

The upcoming North Korea meeting, set to run Monday through Wednesday, also highlights an international schism between the U.S. and its own northern neighbor. The meeting was officially open to what's known as the United Nations Command Sending States, or countries that sent forces in support of South Korea when it fought with Soviet-backed North Korea and its Chinese ally from 1950 to 1953. It did not include North Korea neighbors China and Russia, nor U.S. ally Japan, all of whom have also supported sanctions against North Korea and condemned the upcoming meeting.

After the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized the talks, Canada responded by extending an invite to Beijing, Canada's National Post reported Friday. Tillerson had previously said China would not be invited to the talks, which a Canadian official said in November would be held in Canada because it was more neutral than the U.S.

Senator Bob Menendez said he was "disappointed, but not surprised, that the Trump administration has failed once again to prioritize our long-term national security interests or stand up for human rights."